Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 563,444 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 66.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,411,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 563,444 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $130,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% during the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.2% during the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $117.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $146.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 317.32, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.62. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $118.42.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GILD. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.24.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.